Shelley Love, resident of Florissant, gives a donkey some attention before the race during the 88th annual Donkey Derby Days at Cripple Creek on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Photo by Chancey Bush The Gazette)

Cripple Creek's popular Donkey Derby Days still a go, but with new dates

The 89th annual Donkey Derby Days at Cripple Creek has been rescheduled from June 27-28 to Sept. 5-7.

Chancey Bush, The Gazette

Beads are thrown to the crowd during the parade at the 88th annual Donkey Derby Days in Cripple Creek on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Photo by Chancey Bush The Gazette)

Chancey Bush The Gazette

Shelley Love, resident of Florissant, gives a donkey some attention before the race during the 88th annual Donkey Derby Days at Cripple Creek on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Photo by Chancey Bush The Gazette)

Chancey Bush The Gazette

Participants race with the donkeys during the 88th annual Donkey Derby Days at Cripple Creek on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Photo by Chancey Bush The Gazette)

Chancey Bush The Gazette

Donkeys are fed treats during the 88th annual Donkey Derby Days at Cripple Creek on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Photo by Chancey Bush The Gazette)

Chancey Bush The Gazette

Scenes during the parade at the 88th annual Donkey Derby Days in Cripple Creek on Saturday, June 22, 2019. (Photo by Chancey Bush The Gazette)

Never fear, the donkeys will still be their stubborn, finicky selves this summer.

Just not in June. The 89th annual Donkey Derby Days has been rescheduled from June 27-28 to Sept. 5-7. The popular mountain event attracts about 30,000 to its festivities, where teams try their best to coax a pack of donkeys down a mile-long stretch of Bennett Avenue.

"We are very excited about revising our plans and hope for a good turnout in support of these beautiful animals,” said Two Mile High Club President Curt Sorenson.

The club uses the event to raise funds to care for the resident donkey herd in Cripple Creek. Those are not the donkeys that race in the annual event. An athlete group of animals is brought in from Denver to do the hard lifting.

The race started in the early 1930s when a few businessmen gathered over drinks at a bar and brainstormed about how to attract more summer visitors to town. To learn more, go online to cripplecreekdonkeys.com.